Letters To The Editor

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

On our faces, sagging fortunes

I was a teenager and a young adult in the 1950s and 1960s. When I reflect on those times and my peers, I remember the smiles, particularly the smiles of the young ladies and the music of their laughter.

It seems we smiled more when we talked, walked and met a friend or a stranger than the young people of today do. Too often today, as I observe young people alone or in groups, in place of fresh expressions and smiles I see vacant, troubled or just plain unhappy expressions. Their expressions sometimes remind me of the gray look witnessed on the faces of citizens of the old communist bloc countries.

Our smiles in the 1950s and ‘60s were not just a reflection of a simpler, trouble-free time. We also had our burdens and worries - the draft, Vietnam and the real and well-understood threat of a nuclear Armageddon, to name but a few. However, we still found ways to be happy, feel positive and enjoy life, as reflected in our smiles. Worse, this smileless, sad, vacant and unhappy look and feeling appear to be spreading. As an example, take a look at the faces on the mannequins in store windows, i.e. Nordstrom.

Where have all the smiles gone? R.L. Jones Spokane

Pagoda theft seems so improbable

On May 1, perpetrators took a 5-foot, 325-pound concrete pagoda from our front yard on Suncrest Drive, where it had provided peace and pleasure for us and passers-by since Mother’s Day 1989.

My initial anger at such a brazen theft has evolved into questioning where our society is heading. Are we all too busy to notice a strange truck in a neighbor’s well-lighted driveway and people removing a heavy concrete ornament? Too apathetic to get involved? Too tired to care that we let morally bereft creeps invade our private spaces and steal memories and peace of mind along with the property they take?

When our “Protected by Brinks Home Security” sign was stolen in February, that was kind of funny - sick but ironic. Is it the challenge, the thrill, revenge, a spinoff of entitlements or just plain greed? All these questions will remain as much a mystery as who actually took our stuff.

We probably won’t get any property returned. But maybe somebody will think that’s odd next time a vehicle seems out of place and will take down a license number or report a crime in progress. Maybe some of us actually will look at what is happening in our neighborhoods instead of robotically commuting or jogging by.

If you have noticed a five-tiered pagoda appearing somewhere since May 1, heard someone proudly bragging about his or her nervy heist or complaining about a May Day back injury or hernia, call the Stevens County Sheriff’s Department in reference to case No. 97-05010044. Thanks for caring. Sherri K. Crisp Nine Mile Falls

Homosexuality a threat to all

The coming out of Ellen is another milestone for family entertainment.

Disney, owner of Capital Cities-ABC, was the first to dazzle us with full-length animation and breathtaking nature photography Now, it’s offering us openly gay women on prime-time television.

Am I offended by Ellen’s coming out? You bet I am. This lifestyle choice (and there is no conclusive evidence of genetic predisposition to homosexuality) is clearly anti-family.

A plethora of research shows the value of the traditional family and its positive influence on kids. Two-parent families, as in mother and father, are best. Kids who come out of divorced, single-parent or homosexual families consume more drugs, commit more thefts, skip school more often, suffer depression, commit suicide, procreate out of wedlock, are precocious sexually, tend to slip below the poverty line, have difficulty getting and keeping jobs and get hooked on alcohol more than those from intact families.

To encourage any deviation from the traditional family may be politically acceptable, but it is morally and practically reprehensible - especially if we value our children.

Ellen is no hero. She would be wise to look at the thousands of ex-gays who have come out of destructive lifestyles. They have come to the realization that homosexuality is bad for your health. It’s bad for children. It’s bad for society. Don Otis Sagle, Idaho

It’s up to parents, not gimmicks

The TV rating system is the result of a horrifying study showing the effects of TV violence on kids.

This meager effort at protecting kids from the blaring influence of stabbing and gunshots is useless. A teenager flipping on the television set only has a simpler time finding something appealing to watch by looking at the ratings.

The answer does not lie with the television networks. They can never take the place of parents who should decide what comes into the home and what does not. Parents must develop a system with their children concerning the amount of television they are allowed to watch. Until that can be established, the television set simply should be turned off. Claire A. Ryman, age 14 Spokane

Challenge is to reach out; I accept

Voice changes are commonly the experience of adolescent young men, not 40-something women. But Rebecca Nappi’s “Voices” (April 20) convinced and challenged me to change mine.

As I read her neighborhood examples, I recognized several. The sound of my own voice reached me, and it did not always have a welcoming edge.

Nappi took us to our own back yards. She forced us to focus on our neighborhoods - the places where we see one another coming and going.

We live as if “real life” and important relationships are out there somewhere, on the job, at church, away from home base. But like families, neighborhoods pose a particular challenge to our usually nice, busy selves. When we are at home, as the keepers of our castles, we are not inclined toward interruptions or intrusions, whether at the front door or the telephone.

Habits die hard. Good intentions don’t bring change. Choices and intentional living do. I want to reach out, relate and become a better neighbor-friend to little and big people.

Newspaper articles usually inform or entertain. This one hit home. A life can change. A voice can change. Judith E. Palpant Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Don’t make seniors balance budget

The president has asked Congress to change the Consumer Price Index in an effort to reduce annual costof-living increases to Social Security beneficiaries. This should be a major concern to all senior citizens as well as those receiving a military or veterans pension or a government annuity.

Senior citizens should know that any congressional committee or presidentially appointed group of supposed experts won’t have their best interests in mind when it proposes cost-of-living reductions to help balance the federal budget. The budget hasn’t been balanced in decades and won’t likely be balanced until someone finds a substitute for the air we breathe.

Senior citizens should let their representatives and senators know immediately how they feel about tinkering with the Consumer Price Index for the purpose of reducing their monthly benefits and their economic wellbeing.

If the president and Congress really want to balance the federal budget, other options are available that will not hurt those who have worked all their lives for a small monthly pension or annuity. George L. Berg Jr. Hayden Lake, Idaho

Supply-side economics works

Re: J. Ed Meadows’ goofy logic (“Trickle-down economics won’t work,” letters, April 26):

First, trickle-down economics has nothing to do with Gov. Ronald Reagan’s decision regarding the release of mental patients 15 years before he became president.

Second, supply-side economics, as it should be called, worked in California under Reagan and would work nationally if put into actual use. When Reagan became governor, California had been running deficits year after year under liberal Gov. Edmund Brown Sr. When Reagan left office, California’s economy was equal to the seventhlargest country in the world and the state ran budget surpluses while enjoying incredible prosperity.

Meadows also needs to learn what supply-side economics actually is. This economic system doesn’t propose “giving money to the wealthy” in any form. Instead, it allows everyone who produces to keep more of what he or she earns by taxing and regulating people less.

It’s ludicrous to assume that entrepreneurs, who made their money through good business practices, suddenly would decide not to use incentives to grow their businesses. With that growth comes a need for more employees. These employees then are no longer dependent on taxpayers for their paycheck. Obviously, Meadows prefers to support them with his, my and your “excess” income.

Finally, I don’t intend to work hard my whole life to provide for my family’s future only to have the government decide how much it should inherit. I was taxed when producing my income, when spending it, even sometimes when saving it. Is the government entitled to take what I leave for my kids, too? David C. Hall Spokane

Rethink capital gains assumptions

It seems that every time the folks in the other Washington try to balance the budget, up comes the subject of capital gains. Then, out of the woodwork come all the single-minded folks.

Let’s take the following scenario:

Joe Q. Public bought a house in the Shadle area in 1984 - 793 square feet, two bedrooms, one bathroom, etc., all for only $32,000. Joe was making $11 per hour. Everyone wondered how Joe could afford a new boat, truck to pull it, newer car, nice clothes for his kids, etc. (Thanks to all those plastic cards the banks kept sending and imploring him to use.)

In 1996, Joe’s company was sold and Joe was among those who were given their walking papers. The family managed for a few months but it was getting tight, so they called their friendly Realtor. Research showed that the same size house one block away had just sold for $77,500. Joe figured his family could move into an apartment, regroup, pay off all the plastic and be home free. They even would have a few hundred bucks to live on.

Wrong! Joseph forgot about capital gains. Not being Warren Buffet, General Motors or Bill Gates, he figured (like those folks always knocking capital gains as a benefit for only the rich) that he was not included in the plan.

Now, Joe is without house and without job, and his name was listed in the bankruptcy column. Excessive taxes are not exclusive. They hurt everyone equally. Charles E. McCollim Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Abusive tactics must end

The U.S. Postal Service’s official response to the recent informational picketing at the Hays Park station by postal employees again shows just how far out of touch with reality postal management really is. Its attempt to dismiss it as a team-building exercise or associating it with a grievance is ludicrous. There is a documented history of abuse concerning this manager, and it is time for postal management to address the issue. Management no longer can continue to cover up the problem.

All the parties have signed a joint agreement concerning the workplace, and we simply are asking that postal management be held to the same standard of accountability that the craft employees are held to.

Active and retired carriers, clerks and family members who walked the picket line last week did so for one reason: to inform the public of the harassment and intimidation that go on daily in the Postal Service. We all can agree everybody deserves the right to go to work without that kind of fear. It’s time for the Postal Service to pull its head out of the sand. Steve K. Schultz, president National Association of Letter Carriers, No. 442, Spokane

Dog chew toy patently offensive

Last week, while shopping at a local pet supply store, I decided to look for a toy for my son’s German shepherd. As I was looking at the variety of pet toys, I noticed a ball designed to look like an Indian’s head.

It took me by surprise and struck me as being rather racist to see the head of an Indian being sold as a dog chew toy.

Some may feel my reaction to this dog toy is evidence of how far off the deep end political correctness can go. Others might agree that this store exhibited poor taste by selling a dog ball called Pocahontas which looks like an Indian girl’s head. Would anyone think it was in good humor to see Rover chase and chew a little Jon Benet Ramsey dog ball?

Racist symbols such as a swastika or Confederate flag perhaps are more obvious. But seemingly insignificant messages of racism also are damaging. Subtle racism often is ignored and allowed to endure.

Encourage stores to use good judgment when choosing what products they sell. We as consumers can discourage companies from marketing insensitive products by refusing to buy them. Ginger M. Ninde Medical Lake

OTHER TOPICS

Doctors’ children get immunizations

Re: Ingri L. Cassel’s Apr. 27 letter, “Vaccines nothing but experiments”:

It is unfortunate Cassel wishes to put forward so much misinformation in one letter. Those of us who are old enough to remember the terrible amount of death and crippling that diseases which now are preventable through vaccination caused prior to vaccinations know the true value of prevention.

If vaccinations were so bad, it would be obvious that physicians wouldn’t be immunizing their own children. If you were to sample any number of physicians, the percentage of their children who are vaccinated is extremely high, well above 90 percent. We realize the value of vaccinations and how dangerous these diseases can be if they are allowed to spread unchecked.

It has been my misfortune to see how badly these diseases can harm unimmunized children and adults in other countries. Dr. Michael J. Mainer Spokane

Finch’s efforts bear mentioning

The May 2 article regarding the Humane Society is very good. But I did find one omission that to me is important.

For 30 years or maybe more, the society had an employee named Norman Finch, with whom I did business. When I came to Spokane in 1949, he was the manager, and it appeared to me the Humane Society was one of his main interests in life. I always found him to put the betterment of the Humane Society in the best light for the board of directors and the public. I feel that his dedication should be remembered and acknowledged. Richard B. “Dick” Hopp Spokane

Mandela a quisling, not a savior

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I have been trying to figure out why (South Africa leader) Nelson Mandela, after devoting his life to the eradication of apartheid, would embrace the United States, the primary force behind apartheid, and would enforce supply-side economics, the bogus trickle-down economic theory that states if the rich get everything they desire, enough will trickle down to adequately sustain the poor.

Now I know. He is being set up as the savior of Africa (“Mandela seen as hope for peace in Africa,” May 5) and he is thriving on it.

A survey of the still hungry and still deprived black people in South Africa would reveal a completely different Mandela than the fourth estate puppetry is putting forward. In fact, South Africa is being engulfed in a wave of child rapes because the majority of the population is so desperate.

Greetings, natives. We respect you. Where’s the gold? Margaret E. Koivula Spokane